Some traffic policemen in Thanh Hoa Province blatantly demanded interest-borne bribes from truck drivers found violating road rules. And when the cops are not happy, they can resort to threatening, swearing and beating.
Traffic violations normally include overloading, speeding, driving on wrong lanes, and so on.
Tuoi Tre undercover reporters accompanied an overloaded truck carrying timber from Dak Lak to Hanoi.
At 8 pm on July 31 on National Highway 1A in Tinh Gia District, we stopped at a check point where police car 36B-1237 was being parked.
An officer, who was later identified as Nguyen Van Doi, asked truck driver Tinh “What kind of wood are you carrying?” “Jackfruit wood,” Tinh replied and handed his driver’s license and other papers, in which a VND200,000 (US$9.6) banknote was inserted, to an officer named Hai.
After inspecting the truck with a torch, officer Doi told officer Hai, “Not Jackfruit, but a kind of precious wood”. Hai then told the truck driver “You gave just VND200,000. It must be VND5 million ($240).”
When driver Tinh said he could not afford VND5 million, Hai replied “If you do not agree to the rate, I will have a higher rate for you.”
Driver Tinh lamented he has already paid a lot of money by showing officer Hai a report issued by a forestry management station in which he was fined VND20 million.
However, Hai insisted on the “road-buying fee” -- a slang for the word “bribe” -- and threatened that he would refer the truck to the Forestry Management Sub-Department for punishment.
Pay bribes in installments, with interests
As Tinh brought only VND1.1 million, he begged Hai to have him pay the bribe in installments and that he would give his driver’s license and the truck papers to Hai as security.
Officer Hai agreed but officer Doi added, “I you owe us money, you must pay us a daily interest of VND500,000 [in addition to the principal]” and handed him a sheet of paper. Doi then told the driver to write “I owe you” and sign on it.
At 9: 30 pm at another check point in the province, Tinh slipped a VND100,000 banknote to an officer who was not wearing a name tag and was standing next to patrol car No. 36B-1256.
Upon seeing the money, this officer immediately announced “How can you pay just VND100,000 for all of your truck of wood?”
The driver of an overloaded truck had to give VND300,000 as “road-buying fee” to a traffic police officer in Hue City at 4:20 pm on July 31, 2011 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Tinh explained he had paid VND5 million in the first check point. When the officer expressed disbelief, Tinh informed that officer Hai had told him not to pay much at this check point.
Immediately, the unnamed official telephoned Hai to complain something and then reluctantly received VND100,000 and let us go.
After unloading in Dong Anh District, Hanoi, Tinh called Hai, informing he would meet him to pay VND5 million and get back the papers, but Hai told Tinh to meet Doi, as he was not on duty that day.
After receiving bribe, policeman assaults driver
At 9 pm on August 1, we returned to Thanh Hoa Province and when we met Doi, Tinh asked him to reduce the ‘fee’ as VND5.5 million [including one-day interest] is too high.
But Doi refused.
After Tinh paid him the money, he asked Doi to return the “I owe you” piece of paper but Doi objected, saying he would tear up the note himself. Angry, Tinh shouted out loud “Why could you charge as much as VND500,000 as interest per day?”
At that time, Doi swore “F..k you! I will smash up your face. What a dog!”, and rushed to Tinh to beat him on the head and back.
A group of traffic policemen nearby did not intervene. Tinh eventually managed to escape.
In several trips afterwards, Tuoi Tre reporters found the same situation in Thanh Hoa Province.
On August 3, also in Ha Trung check point, an officer, without wearing a name badge, refused to receive VND50,000 and told the driver, “No need to say much. Pay enough and go. If not, stay here”.
On August 11, in Tinh Gia District, our truck carrying chieu lieu (terminalia) wood without documents was stopped by a group of policemen, one of whom - Nguyen Nhu Sang - asked the driver to pay VND12 million.
Pay or I’ll slap you
The driver begged for a lower fee but Sang indifferently announced “Pay that money or I will slap you in the face”. The driver had to pay the money to Sang.
On August 12, Tuoi Tre journalists found another truck driver giving VND200,000 to Tran Nhat Quynh, an officer at the Hau Loc District check point. This driver explained he had already paid VND1.3 million at the previous check point.
The officer then received the money but threatened, “If I meet you next time at the inner check point and you do not pay me that much, I will show you what’s what.”
A similar situation was seen in other central provinces like Quang Binh and Thua-Thien-Hue.
Not only drivers carrying wood, but those transporting fruits had to pay the bribes.
On July 29, at a check point in Tung Lam Commune, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province, an officer without an ID badge collected VND100,000 from every driver of fruit trucks that passed by.
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